Oct. 22, 2006
Ninth-ranked Vanderbilt shot a school-record final-round 9-under par 275 and rallied from a 16-stroke deficit to claim medalist honors at the Stanford Women’s Intercollegiate Sunday at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Commodores’ three-round score of 3-over par 855 also set a school record and finished five strokes ahead of second-place and 12th-ranked Arizona. Top-ranked Georgia (292) was third. Sixth-ranked Stanford was the tournament leader entering the final day. However, the Cardinal shot 15-over par on Sunday and finished fourth (863). In all, eighth of the 15 teams in the tournament were nationally ranked.
Sunday also marked the second consecutive tournament victory for Vanderbilt, who won the Lady Tar Heel Invitational earlier this month.
Four Vanderbilt players recorded standout performances on the final day, including sophomore Jacqui Concolino and senior Kristen Svicarovich, who both posted career-low scores for a single round and tournament.
Concolino ranked as Vanderbilt’s top player, carding a final-round 3-under par 68 to finish the three-day event in sixth place with a 3-under par 210. She finished three shot behind Stacy Lewis of Arkansas and Alison Walshe of Arizona, who shared individual medalist honors at 6-under par 207.
For Concolino, who entered the tournament ranked ninth nationally by Golfweek magazine, Sunday marked the 10th time in 15 collegiate tournaments that she has earned a Top 10 finish.
Svicarovich led all Commodores on Sunday, posting a 4-under par 67 to climb 17 places in the standings to finish tied for 10th place at 1-over par 214. Svicarovich registered six birdies on the day, including four on the back nine. Her 67 was one shot off from tying the school record for a single round.
“Both Jacqui and Kristen were awesome today,” Vanderbilt head coach Martha Richards said. “That’s the type of play we needed to win this tournament. Kristen finished the tournament strong and Jacqui was very steady as well.
“We knew we had played well on the first two days, but we were leaving some shots out on the course. Today, we went out and took advantage of our opportunities and made a lot of birdies.”
Senior Chris Brady (71+75+70=216) jumped 11 spots in the standings to finish tied for 13th place following a season-best 1-under par 70. Freshman Brooke Goodwin recorded a season-best 1-under par 70 to tie for 26th position at 79+71+70=220. Junior Liebelei Lawrence tied for 36th at 74+75+73=222.
“We’ve finished ahead of some highly ranked teams in winning our last two tournaments so there should be no doubt in our minds that we belong among the top teams in nation,” Richards said. “We’re very excited with our play going into the offseason.”
For Freitag, a 1993 alumus of Stanford, the win had special meaning.
“The Stanford Intercollegiate is a prestigious tournament with some of the best programs in the west,” Richards said. “When I played here we were never able to win this tournament. It means a lot to bring Vanderbilt here and come out on top.”
Vanderbilt steps out of medal play competition until the spring season. However, the Commodores will take part in the Collegiate Match Play Championships, Nov. 3-5 in Orlando, Fla.
Stanford Women’s Intercollegiate
Stanford Golf Course (Par 71, 5,985 yards)
Palo Alto, Calif.
Final Round Agate
Team Standings
1. Vanderbilt 288+292+275=855;
2. Arizona 277+292+291=860;
3. Georgia 284+286+292=862;
4. Stanford 286+278+299=863;
5. San Jose State 297+300+280=877;
6. Oregon 297+295+286=878;
7. Duke 292+293+297=882;
T8. New Mexico 294+291+299=884;
T8. UCLA 298+296+290=884;
10. Arkansas 305+291+290=886;
11. Washington State 295+296+306=897;
12. California 311+295+295=901;
T13. Oregon State 306+300+301=907;
T13. Washington 305+299+303=907;
15. Tulsa 302+304+307=913.
Individual Standings (Top 10)
T1. Stacy Lewis, Arkansas 71+67+69=207;
T1. Alison Walshe, Arizona 67+71+69=207;
T3. Lauren Todd, Stanford 70+68+70=208;
T3. Adriana Zwanck, Arizona 68+71+69=208;
5. Whitney Wade, Georgia 67+69+73=209;
6. Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt 69+73+68=210;
7. Kimberly McCready, Oregon 71+73+67=211;
T8. Amy Eneroth, Washington State 70+71+72=213;
T8. Mary Jacobs, Arizona 71+72+70=213;
10. Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke 69+71+74=214.
Vanderbilt Scorers
6. Jacqui Concolino 69+73+68=210;
T10. Kristen Svicarovich 74+73+67=214;
T13. Chris Brady 71+75+70=216;
T26. Brooke Goodwin 79+71+70=220;
T36. Liebelei Lawrence 74+75+73=222.
